Vietnam oil blocks promising, says petroleum minister

The oil blocks offered to India by Vietnam seem promising, according to initial studies, and should not present a problem as they are well in the southeastern Asian country’s territorial waters, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Wednesday.

Dharmendra Pradhan

He also said Vietnam can become a big market for fibre yarn, a by-product of India’s petrochemical sector, with garments and textiles one of the focus areas as the two countries seek to reach a target of $15 billion by 2020.

Speaking to journalists on board Air India One while returning from Vietnam, where he had accompanied President Pranab Mukherjee on a state visit, Pradhan said while OVL feasibility studies on the oil blocks were on, two of them seemed promising, and hence the letter of intent signed in this matter among the seven major agreements achieved on this trip.

“During his visit to India in 2013, the Vietnamese Communist Party general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong had offered seven blocks, all within its territory. OVL carried feasibility studies and indications are that they are promising.

“In fact, an OVL team was in Vietnam for more than a week before the president’s visit and have been given all assistance and help by the Vietnamese authorities,” he said.

Pradhan also expressed hope that Vietnam could become a huge, captive market for Indian fibre yarn.

“Vietnam has supply lines to Europe and America and needs a large amount of fibre yarn,” he said, adding India could meet this demand from its petrochemical sector.

The $15 billion bilateral trade aimed at by 2020 has a focus on tourism, garments and textiles, pharmaceuticals and agriculture.